The Internet of Things

The "Internet of Things" is a topic that has fascinated me since I first saw a video on the topic last year.  I work for AT&T and sell all products and services the company offers at my retail location.  My first job for the company was a summer internship to be an "expert" for the first iPhone launch in 2007.  This single product revolutionized the wireless industry because it made the internet immediately accessible for millions of people.  This past year we launched a smart home service called AT&T Digital Life that allows your smartphone or tablet to control features of your house like a camera or even the front door.  People use their phones to access email or the internet more now than they use the phone to make calls.  Our devices have now become the most important thing we own and what we use more than any other object in our lives.  Cisco has an infographic that says in 2008 "the number of things connected to the internet exceeded the number of people on Earth." These "things" are not just smartphone or tablets, but include wireless trackers, homes, cars, and even our pets.  It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 50 billion things connected to the internet which is truly amazing.  I attached a video that IBM created to put the "Internet of Things" into perspective:

The most amazing part of the video to me is the reality that our lives will completely change because these different things will be able to communicate to make us more efficient in our daily lives.  IBM has a message in the video that we must use this technology to be improve our world.  As more people have access to the internet (2 billion by next year) we will have a greater ability to work with people around the world to reverse some of the damage we have done to our planet.  I'm excited to see the possibilities that will be available to us by the year 2020.

-Keith